


Chewing on Pearls

by Skylark



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Antagonism, Character Study, Class Issues, F/F, Flirting, Gym Challenges, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-25
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-03 02:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8693161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skylark/pseuds/Skylark
Summary: "You win," Elesa says, and the challenger bears her teeth."I'm Hilda," she says, tossing a Poké Ball in one hand, head cocked, eyes sharp and bright in the neon lighting. "But you knew that, didn't you?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [axolotlsGambit](https://archiveofourown.org/users/axolotlsGambit/gifts).



> Please note that my Elesa and Hilda characterizations are wildly different from canon and probably fanon, you have been warned. In particular, my Hilda is an orphan who lives in the battle subway, and my Elesa is all fangs and sharp edges. The backstory for this is that a while after the events of B/W, Hilda comes up through the gym challenge to become the next champion after Hilbert. Hilbert and Hilda are not siblings or friends in this universe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Originally written](http://thingwithfeathers.dreamwidth.org/38722.html#cutid1) 2012-03-25. Prompt was the tarot card "Strength."

"You win," Elesa says, and the challenger bears her teeth.

"I'm Hilda," she says, tossing a Poké Ball in one hand, head cocked, eyes sharp and bright in the neon lighting. "But you knew that, didn't you?"

"I've seen you before," Elesa acknowledges.

Hilda tips her head back and laughs up at the ceiling. "I've seen you with Ingo and Emmet," she says. "You spend a lot of time with them, don't you?"

Elesa's eyes narrow. "I've seen you sleeping on the benches on the battle subway," she replies, and Hilda's smile turns into a snarl. She steps forward, then, uncurls her fist into an open palm facing upward.

Elesa drops the the money and the TM into her hand, but hesitates before giving her the badge. "Congratulations," she says cooly. "Why don't you get yourself something to eat, for once?"

Hilda's grin is all teeth. "I've taken care of myself for ten years, princess," she snaps. "What do you have to show for yourself? Everybody knows this is your daddy's playground you're living in."

Elesa takes in a quick breath. It's true that the theme park is her father's, and will be passed to her in due time.

"Glitter and fancy dresses," Hilda says. "Glamor and pretty boys—you've got a nice set-up here, I'll give you that much." She leans in, snatches the badge from Elesa's hands before she can pull it away.

"Street rat," Elesa whispers.

"Porcelain doll," Hilda hisses back. She turns on her heel and steps into the car that pulls up to the station. The car flies away down the roller coaster tracks, sleek and silent.

\--

She sees Hilda again at the afterparty of her championship ceremony, out of her element in a dark dress and stylish hair. Elesa slides into the chair beside her with a glass of champagne. She smiles at Hilda when she looks up, and pointedly drinks from the glass. Hilda's not old enough to drink; Champions almost never are.

"Congratulations again," she says, and Hilda's eyes flicker nervously to the table. Elesa cocks her head, her smile cooling. "Liepard got your tongue?"

Hilda glares at her placemat, glances up at Elesa again but says nothing. Elesa's finger traces the edge of the glass as she notices a dozen things; that she sits with her legs open, that her nails are worn to the quick, that her eyeliner is already slightly smudged. She points this last one out, and Hilda blushes underneath her makeup.

"Excuse me," Hilda says, getting up. Elesa follows her to the bathroom, watches Hilda bristle and hesitate by the door.

"Stop _following_ me."

"It's a free country," Elesa says.

Inside, Hilda fusses at her bangs, trying to ignore the woman who stands with her back to the sinks with her arms crossed, mentally replaying Hilda's shaky walk in three-inch heels.

"You're good at Pokémon battling," Elesa says, and Hilda's hands stop, "but that doesn't mean you're good at everything."

The eyeliner seems to sharpen Hilda's glare. "Shut up," she says.

"Do any of the gym leaders here even like you?" she says. "Or did you leave the same excellent first impression with all of them?"

"I'm the Champion now—"

"So what?" Elesa says.

"So when I tell you to shut up, _shut up,_ " Hilda snarls.

Elesa and Hilda stare at each other's reflections. Finally, Elesa takes a step forward, removing a clip from her own hair. She smooths Hilda's bangs back and clips it in place.

"You're a street rat," she says, quietly. Hilda's hand flashes up to grab her hand and yank it away, only to find that even with all her strength, she can't budge Elesa at all. "I didn't finish," Elesa says, almost scolding. "I was saying, you're still a street rat, but that doesn't mean you're worthless. You've proven that."

Hilda's eyes are wary as they linger on her face. Elesa shakes her head.

"How old are you, really?" she asks.

"Sixteen."

"By the time I was your age, I was walking runways on three continents," Elesa says. "And yes, before you say so, some of that was because of my father's influence. But most of that was my own hard work. The modeling world doesn't accept anything less than the best, no matter who you are, or where you're from." She draws her hand away. "The Pokémon world is the same way."

Hilda removes the clip from her hair and holds it, palm up, towards Elesa. "Take it back," she says.

"It's a gift."

"It's a handout."

Elesa shakes her head. She reaches out and curls Hilda's fingers back around the clip.

Hilda puts the clip on the sink counter, defiant. "What do you _want?_ "

Elesa sighs. "All I'm saying is, if you were really strong, you wouldn't keep proving yourself like this all the time."

"Couldn't you say the same for yourself?" Hilda demands.

Elesa looks at her. "Maybe," she admits.

Before Hilda can say anything, she gestures at the clip. "Keep it," she says again, "as a housewarming gift." Her eyes linger on Hilda's face, considering, before she leaves the bathroom. When Hilda steps outside again, Elesa is gone.


	2. Five Years Before

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For john_egbert @ DW, who asked for a snapshot of Hilda five years before Chewing on Pearls. [Originally published](http://thingwithfeathers.dreamwidth.org/41328.html?thread=529520#cmt529520) 17 Jan 2013.

One would think the rattling of the train would wake her up, but it doesn't. The trains changed from alarm clock to lullaby years ago. Too many years to count, in Hilda's opinion. Not many things count to her.

She sleeps on a bench at the end of the station, a thin blanket draped across her chest and some of the strongest pokémon on the subway circuit quiescent in their balls at her belt. It's noon outside by the time she wakes up; it might have mattered to her if she spent any time up there, if the sun in the sky was anything more than a passing curiosity to her. Hilda's real life is, has always been, in the tunnels.

She wakes up when the thirtieth train on the day shift comes rattling through the station, right on time. Her eyes flash open and she rolls to her feet without much preamble, tucking her blanket back into her bag as she walks forward. The train doors open and she steps on easily, mouth stretched into a wide, luxurious yawn. One hand combs through her ponytail, working through the tangles, as her other hand reaches for her poké balls. She feels through them, checking each one, before her hands settle to her sides. She's not expecting any passengers this far back in the train, and she receives none. Hilda rides without reaching for a handhold, bending her knees and shifting her weight to accommodate for the turns and rattles that she knows by heart.

She steps off at the gear station and looks for breakfast. She's making a lazy circuit around the central hub before she catches sight of a young man standing at the multi station. His stance is shy, and she's never seen him before. Curious, she heads down the stairs, her hand again reaching back to feel through the poké balls at her belt. Maybe he'll be able to keep up with her, maybe he won't, but she never turns down a chance to learn something new.

"Hi!" she says with a crooked smile. "I'm Hilda! You're challenging the Multi Train for the first time, right?"


End file.
